Q-Tip 1, Ear 0

This is slightly embarrassing. But since it’s all over now, it’s moderately amusing too, so I’ll share.

Last night I had an unfortunate run-in with a Q-Tip. A confrontation you might call it. It was brief, but the Q-Tip definitely won.

Have you ever lodged something in your ear canal? I hadn’t before.

Until last night.

Yes, I use Q-Tips. I use them regularly. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that I love Q-Tips. That relationship is way over now.

So what happened, you ask? Well, late last night, as I was rushing through my after-shower routine, I noticed that a Q-Tip that had been in my ear just a second before came back out without the cotton bud on the end. Total freak out moment. We gooogled the obvious “What do I do when I lose a Q-Tip in my ear?!?!” and didn’t come up with anything ingenious other than a few posts about going to the hospital. Duh.

My sweet husband looked in my ear with a flashlight. We tried tweezers. We tried pouring rubbing alcohol in my ear. No dice.

I will point out that it did not hurt and I could still hear. Freak out? Yes. Panic over gushing blood? No.

Then came the web-searching for the closest Urgent Care. They all close at 10pm. It was about 11:30pm at this point. Hospitals stay open all night, right? Wait how much is our deductible? Okay no. Closest 24-hour Urgent Care? Far, far away.

I finally got a little peace of mind after calling my insurance company’s 24-hour registered nurse hotline. The nurse said that it’d be okay to wait until the morning and go see a regular doctor.

So that’s my saga. It’s out now, my ear is all-good (with the exception of a few scratches on my ear canal caused by sticking tweezers in my ear – yea, it even sounds like a bad idea now), and I will be throwing out our stash of Q-Tips.   

A few disclaimers since I’ve been the source of amusement all morning at work amongst my coworkers (and I’m sure you’re thinking some of these questions as well):

·         No, I usually DO NOT shove a Q-Tip very far into my ear. It was an accident.

·         Yes, I now understand that Q-Tips are BAD and most doctors don’t recommend using them. I’m throwing out my stash, okay?

·         Yes, now we now have an idea as to where the closest Urgent Care/Hospital/Doctor’s office is. Give us a break, we’re healthy people and haven’t needed these places yet. On a side note, my sweet, sweet husband is an absolute hero in a crisis moment. He took care of me very well!

My coworkers are pretty comical though. One guy walked around with a pen in his ear this morning. Another person kept yelling out “What? I can’t hear you. I have something in my ear!” And another guy thinks I came up with the most creative excuse ever for coming into late. Ha!